Kurt Angle says he can't wrestle John Cena, but he'd be honored to induct him.
John Cena's retirement tour is underway, as he will wrap up his career as an in-ring competitor at the end of 2025. Though Kurt Angle has not wrestled since he retired 2019, fans continue to speculate that he could face Cena during his last run. Cena memorably faced Angle in his WWE SmackDown debut in 2002.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Kurt Ange was asked about people thinking he could face John Cena during his farewell tour.
“No, I can’t wrestle anymore. Actually, you know what? I did wrestle about two months ago. I did a commercial for CBS, and it was for the NFL pre-game for the Ravens and Steelers. So me and a gentleman named Kyle Brandt, he’s a sportscaster for CBS, he pretended he was the Ravens, and I pretended I was the Steelers. We had a pro wrestling match, and I was bumping. What happened was, I threw my back out, and I couldn’t walk for a week after that. My wife was like, ‘You’re never getting in that ring again.’ She’s right. I shouldn’t have even got in the ring. But it was a lot of fun to do it. But I would love to wrestle John Cena. There’s nobody that wants to wrestle John more than I do for his retirement match, especially with the respect I have for him. I just can’t do it. Because if I get in the ring and I start beating myself up, I’ll never heal [laughs]. I could just walk in there cold and have a match with him, but then I’d probably regret it when I was done," Angle said.
Angle was then asked about potentially inducting John Cena into the WWE Hall of Fame. He noted that a lot of people, including Randy Orton and Stephanie McMahon, deserved to induct him. However, he stated that he would be honored to do so.
"I’ll tell you this, there are a lot of people that deserve to induct John. Randy Orton, who was his biggest competition or his nemesis, but Stephanie McMahon, don’t forget that she’s the one that discovered his rapping ability, and she was a big fan of his, and she really supported him quite often. But no, listen, I’d be honored to induct John Cena. The one thing I want to say about him is, he has shown that he is possibly the greatest WWE Superstar of all time. Winning 16 world heavyweight titles in one company, Ric Flair won 16, but he won them in NWA, WCW, and WWE, and you can’t take that away from him, but to do it all in one company, that makes you that company’s greatest star. I really believe that he deserves another title before he retires. It should [happen]," Angle said.
Angle was also asked whether he thought that he might get called to do a segment with John Cena on WWE programming in 2025, and he noted that it could be possible.
Angle previously said that he didn't think he could get in the ring for a match with Cena. Check out his comments here.
Click here to see what Kurt Angle had to say about Cena potentially challenging for the world title.
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